Walter Rogowski (7 May 1881 – 10 March 1947) was a German physicist who bridged the gap between theoretical physics and applied technology in numerous areas of electronics. The

Rogowski coil A Rogowski coil, named after Walter Rogowski, is an electrical device for measuring alternating current (AC) or high-speed current pulses. It sometimes consists of a helical coil of wire with the lead from one end returning through the centre o ...

was named after him.

Biography

In 1900, Rogowski began his studies at the RWTH Aachen, under

Arnold Sommerfeld Arnold Johannes Wilhelm Sommerfeld, (; 5 December 1868 – 26 April 1951) was a German theoretical physicist who pioneered developments in atomic and quantum physics, and also educated and mentored many students for the new era of theoretica ...

, who occupied the Chair for Applied Mechanics. He acquired his

Vordiplom A ''Diplom'' (, from grc, δίπλωμα ''diploma'') is an academic degree in the German-speaking countries Germany, Austria, and Switzerland and a similarly named degree in some other European countries including Albania, Bulgaria, Belarus, ...

in 1902 and went on to study at the Danzig Technische Hochschule (now Gdańsk University of Technology), where he was also a scientific assistant. He completed his studies at Danzig in 1904, but stayed on until 1908, when he went to be a scientific assistant at the Physikalisch Technische Reichsanstalt in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, specializing in high current technology,

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that fe ...

technology, and electrical

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Rogowski returned to Aachen, in 1920, and became an ordinarius professor for theoretical

electro-technology Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and director of the Institute for Electro-Technology. At that time, the institute was in the mining industry building. Rogowski, with his head assistant Eugen Flegler, began to put together a plan for their own building. The draft submission to the Ministry of Education was made by the university in 1923. However, the plan was not accomplished until 1925, with inauguration of the generous institute building on 27 October 1929. The original plan proposed to house the entire electrical engineering section in the building. However, during the construction phase, it was decided the building would house only Rogowski’s Institute. The main thrust of the institute was to bridge the gap between physics and electro-technology. Work carried out in the institute included general

, theoretical electro-technology,

technology,

high frequency High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten ...

engineering, electrical discharges in gases, and

high voltage High voltage electricity refers to electrical potential large enough to cause injury or damage. In certain industries, ''high voltage'' refers to voltage above a certain threshold. Equipment and conductors that carry high voltage warrant spec ...

technology.Rogowski
– AstA RWTH
– RWTH Aachen
– Aachen LinacImage
– Rogowski Institute, Aachen In 1927, the Norwegian Rolf Widerøe received his doctorate of engineering under Rogowski. Widerøe worked primarily on then-new oscillating-field particle accelerators and build the first linear particle accelerator at RWTH Aachen in 1928. It was his 1927 paper in ''Archiv für Elektrotechnik'' that

Ernest Lawrence Ernest Orlando Lawrence (August 8, 1901 – August 27, 1958) was an American nuclear physicist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1939 for his invention of the cyclotron. He is known for his work on uranium-isotope separation f ...

read in 1929, which gave him the idea for electrical resonance particle acceleration of protons, resulting in the cyclotron. Ernst Sommerfeld, the son of

, worked with Rogowski at his institute. The institute was renamed in Rogowski’s honor and became the Rogowski-Institut der RWTH Aachen.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rogowski, Walter 1881 births 1947 deaths 20th-century German physicists People from the Rhine Province People from Wesel (district) RWTH Aachen University alumni